A meat wholesaler accused of dishonestly selling turkey as halal lamb in a profitable scam told the police that he ran a legitimate company, a court has heard.
Mahmudur Rohman (46) claimed he did not mislead his customers, when running the now defunct Peterborough-based Dutch Bangla Direct Ltd which supplied dozens of restaurants, takeaways and shops in Leicestershire.
Leicester Crown Court heard the alleged fraud led to countless diners unknowingly consuming non-halal turkey, believing it to be halal lamb, throughout the East Midlands and beyond.
Rohman (46), from Peterborough, is on trial with three other men, who all deny conspiring to defraud customers by making false representations about the kind of meat being sold, between 2013 and 2014. They are Mohammed Anwarul Hoque (56) and his son, Mohammed Zunaid Hoque (25), both from Leicestershire, and Kamal Rahman (54), from Peterborough.
The court heard that following his arrest, Rohman confirmed to the police, in a prepared statement, he was the director of Dutch Bangla Direct Ltd which imports meat.
When questioned, Mohammed Anwarul Hoque told the police that his son worked for the company and he occasionally helped his son and was not aware of food being wrongly labelled. His son, Mohammed Zunaid Hoque said, in interview, that he was a part-time delivery driver since June 2013.
Kamal Rahman said in interview he ran restaurants in the Peterborough and Cambridge area and had assisted Rohman with contacts in the trade.
The alleged fraud came to light during an investigation into the then recent national horse meat scandal – and food tests discovered turkey DNA in dishes that were supposed to be lamb. Between October 2012 and November 2014 the company allegedly imported 116 tonnes of turkey, mainly from Germany, paying between £1 and £1.50 per kilo which was sold on as lamb for between £4.75 and £7 a kilo.
As well as the conspiracy allegation, all four deny selling food which was not the substance demanded by the customer and selling food labelled with a false description.
Rahman also denies intending to pervert the course of justice. Rohman, Hoque and Hoque deny five counts of Food Safety Act breaches.
Rohman denies forgery, possessing an article for use in fraud, selling food with a false description, failing to have in place adequate systems and procedures to provide food traceability to the authorities and failing to notify the authorities of premises where food production, processing or distribution was taking place.
Hoque (senior) denies possessing a false halal certificate for the use of fraud.
The trial continues.
